Safety

Electrical contractors find themselves in a wide range of locations, and many locations can present environmental hazards. Mold is one hazard that has received a great deal of attention. The following may help workers better understand the dangers mold can pose.

If OSHA adheres to its self-imposed schedule, next month we should see a final rule clarifying when an employer is required to pay for personal protective equipment for employees. Bear in mind, however, that OSHA’s ruling is not necessarily the final word on a subject.

What do you do when the air quality at work is found to be a hazard? The best way to protect your employees is to get rid of the hazard. Ventilation is an engineering control that may eliminate respiratory hazards. You can try to control exposure administratively through scheduling.

No one would disagree that a job site is a noisy place, so noisy that it can lead to hearing loss over time. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has named hearing loss one of 21 priority areas for research in the future. Hearing loss is 100 percent preventable.

When a hazard exists at a work site, there are two ways to limit access. First is a positive form where the hazardous area is under lock-and-key access, and the operator has control over who enters. Second is the passive form, which is where signs come into play.

Now it's even easier to be responsible. At a press conference on May 1, 2007, on the National Mall, the Common Ground Alliance (CGA) joined with the Federal Communications Commission, the Associated General Contractors of America, John Deere, The Travelers Companies Inc.

In the same storm system that produced an F5 tornado that devastated Greensburg, Kan., on May 4, 2007, a severe thunderstorm disabled the Oncor Electric Delivery service area through the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex and surrounding areas.

The truth about transient voltage surge suppressors A series of fatal fires recently have put transient voltage surge suppressors (TVSS) to the forefront of news again. It wasn’t necessarily the normal application of such devices that created hazards.

Several hazards hold the most potential for injuries No matter how comfortable an electrician feels working with electricity, danger must never be overlooked. OSHA estimates about 350 electrical-related deaths occur each year.

According to new statisticscollected by researchers at Duke University Medical Center and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), the number of injuries from nail guns has almost doubled since 2001.

Electrical contractors have more at stake when working in healthcare than just doing quality electrical and low-voltage work. More than 2 million patients a year in U.S. hospitals acquire infections while they are hospitalized for other health problems, and 88,000 die as a result.

Note changes to OSHA’s CPR/AED protocol: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) requirement for first-aid/CPR responders on-site has not changed; when performing electrical work, it is a recognized fact they are needed.

The AFL-CIO and the United Food and Commercial Workers sued the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) on Jan. 3, 2007, over OSHA’s failure to complete a rulemaking that would require employers to pay for personal protective equipment (PPE).

The AFL-CIO and the United Food and Commercial Workers sued the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) on Jan. 3, 2007, over OSHA’s failure to complete a rulemaking that would require employers to pay for personal protective equipment (PPE).